As much of the world knows by now, Russia has declared war on Ukraine and as of early March 2022, has killed thousands of people throughout the country. Russia has pulled out all the stops with tanks, warships, infantrymen, and more in this all-out war. 

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Unfortunately this means that countless civilian lives are in danger. Out of the 44 million residents about 1 million have so far escaped, fleeing west to get to safety. Another 3 million are estimated to escape in the coming weeks. Of those, an estimated 180,000 have fled to Moldova. Of the five countries bordering Ukraine's west side, Moldova is the only one that is not in the European Union. The EU has made a mass effort to accommodate the refugees. Yet Moldova, usually viewed as the poorest country in Europe, is highly lacking in resources to help their Ukrainian neighbors. There is much attention going to the refugees fleeing to the EU, yet not much to those fleeing to Moldova. 

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Therefore, we are partnering up with a few Christian ministries in Moldova who have decades of experience in helping those in need and who are actively helping the Ukrainian refugees. One is Speranta, based in Balti, and the other is Sarepta, based in Sarata-Galbena. They have already helped thousands of refugees.

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For now, there is a minimal supply chain shortage so they are mostly able to buy what's needed to provide for these families. However, these ministries have always been short on funds, and this situation has only exacerbated that problem. So even though stores have ample supplies, these ministries are severely lacking necessary funding to provide for the refugees. As a result, we've been hearing countless stories of Moldovan citizens who already don't have much coming together to donate whatever they can to help these people. 

 

Many refugees don't know where they'll go and simply wait at the border until someone can help them. These ministries are sending vans to the borders, picking people up, and taking them either back to their towns or further on to Romania. They prefer Romania since the quality of life and opportunities are much better there, but for those who don't have money or connections in Romania, they have no choice but to stay in Moldova. 

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These ministries have set up beds and cots wherever they can fit them - in churches, orphanages, dining halls, meeting centers, their own homes, and so on. It's still winter there so setting up tents is currently not an option. They are housing newborns, children, mothers, the elderly. A small amount of men have gotten through but any Ukrainian citizen male 18-60 years old are being called into military service. With this huge influx comes a major need for food, clothing, medical supplies, and more. The refugees themselves are very helpful; as soon as they arrive they get to work helping prepare sleeping spaces for themselves and others, as well as cooking, cleaning, administering medical care, and so on. While the hope is that this will be over soon, Sarepta has spoken with the school in their village to allow Ukrainian children to attend, so that they can at least have some semblance of a normal life. 

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They are doing what they can and we are trying to also do what we can. We are raising and sending funds to these ministries so that they can answer these urgent needs. We personally know these people and know that they will direct all the funds to this cause. Thank you so much for your help and God bless you all.